The leader of the Proud Boys group who was indicted last week on charges including conspiracy related to the Jan. 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol, has been ordered detained pending trial.
A federal judge in Miami ordered that Enrique Tarrio, 38, be denied bail while he awaits trial, a Department of Justice spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Washington, D.C. confirmed.
The ruling came a day after federal prosecutors filed a motion asking the judge to detain Tarrio, saying he poses a flight risk and also a risk of obstructing justice in the case.
Tarrio wasn’t in Washington on Jan. 6 as he complied with a court order to stay out of the nation’s capital after burning a Black Lives Matter banner several weeks prior.
But prosecutors are pursuing him for allegedly conspiring with Proud Boys members who took part in the breach, which occurred while Congress was certifying the 2020 electoral votes.
Tarrio “continued to direct and encourage the Proud Boys prior to and during the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and that he claimed credit for what had happened on social media and in an encrypted chat room during and after the attack,” the Department of Justice said in a statement.
As one example, Tarrio posted online after the building was breached that he was “enjoying the show” and instructed members to “do what must be done.” In another post, he urged people not to leave; in a third, he said that the Proud Boys were a militia.
Prosecutors also alleged that Tarrio maintained an active leadership role behind the scenes on Jan. 6, telling his followers on social media not to leave the Capitol, and later, in an encrypted chat between Tarrio and other Proud Boys, telling them, “We did this.”
“There is overwhelming evidence that Tarrio organized a plot to corruptly obstruct, influence, and impede the certification of the electoral college vote, an offense that strikes at the heart of our democracy,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason McCullough said in court documents.
“At this point in time, we respect the judge’s ruling, however, we’re respectfully disagreeing and we’re going to wait for the judge’s order to be released—we expect it to be released today—and then take the appropriate that steps we need to take up in D.C. based upon that ruling,” Hassan said.
Hassan added, “There’s no showing that he was actually in the Capitol or made any intrusions into the Capitol Building on Jan. 6.”
According to the Department of Justice, more than 775 people have been arrested in nearly 50 states for alleged crimes related to the breach.
